CALIFORNIA – Supports of a proposed ban on plastic shopping bags say it's a sad day for the ocean.
Tuesday night, state lawmakers rejected AB 1998 which would have banned the use of one use plastic shopping bags.
The vote followed a contentious debate over whether the state was going too far in trying to regulate personal choice.
If the state had approved AB 1998, it would have been the nation's first statewide ban on plastic shopping bags.
Lawmakers worked right up to their midnight deadline, and at the end of their legislative session the bill received just 14 votes in the Senate, it needed 21 votes to pass.
The supporters of the bill are disappointed. They say disposable bags cost the state $25 million a year to collect and transport.
The American Chemistry Council hotly contested the ban. Opponents say it would have cost the state thousands of manufacturing jobs and would have placed a new burden on consumers.
Opponents believe more should be done to educate consumers about the recycling opportunities that are available as well as making recycling more convenient.
